Vacation Destination: Kissimmee & Orlando, Florida

On this trip to Florida, we ventured to destinations in both Kissimmee and Orlando—and the duo made for the perfect balance of relaxation and excitement. Florida is a very welcoming place for all types: from young to old; couples, families, or friends; and an intermingling of locals, and tourists from both the United States and all around the world. You can be certain, Florida does not lack warm sun, beautiful scenery, and plenty of attractions that will keep you entertained for days on end!

Arabian Nights is THE dinner show experience in the Kissimmee/Orlando area. Once you enter the impressive palace, a stunning show full of drama, mystery, and the showmanship of riders upon tons of magnificent horses is awaiting you! At Arabian Nights, you truly enter another world with the lavish costumes, a talented cast of actors and actresses that lead you through plenty of theatrical twists and turns, and of course, the display of fantastic lights and impeccably-trained, elegant horses. While they stay true to their Arabian Nights theme, it is also really neat to see the Western Americana and Native American influences present in the show. The hospitality aspect of Arabian Nights is just as high quality as the show itself. Upgrading to their VIP package is certainly worth the reasonable price difference as this includes a great menu to please even the pickiest eater including prime rib, a full bar of top shelf drink choices and specialty cocktails such as piña coladas and strawberry daiquiris, and excellent service. If you have been to a dinner show before and are skeptical regarding the quality of the food, we can assure you that you will not only be pleased, but impressed! You even get a chance to go backstage to the stables before the show to see the horses with the VIP accommodations, and photo opportunities around the venue and on the horses are welcomed. It was impossible to have anything less than a fun, memorable time and we all would have gone back for an encore if we just had one more open night in our itinerary!

3 Sisters Speakeasy is a staple of vibrant yet leisurely downtown Kissimmee. The bar itself is a true descendent of an actual secret speakeasy kept alive by three sisters during the Prohibition Era, and these roots heavily influence the inspirations seen all around the venue. As you walk down Broadway Avenue to the bar, the first thing you notice is the inviting and festively decorated beer garden. The restaurant is warm and welcoming, and so is the knowledgeable and extra friendly staff. In fact, our server Carmen not only guided us through her favorite cocktails and menu items–she was also our pocket ace in the trivia tournament (in which we unfortunately tied for third place, after three rounds of intense competition!!). There are so many aspects of the Three Sisters Speakeasy that make it a must-do in Kissimmee, but the first was that they had a full menu of sushi and their own sushi chef preparing each order a la carte! We started off by sampling their California roll, Rainbow roll (which added 4 different types of fish to the standard California roll), Hamachi Sashimi, and the house specialty, the Wicked Stepsister. While all of the sushi we ordered was delicious and the presentation of each roll was incredible, our favorite by far was the Wicked Stepsister, a tasty deep fried roll featuring tuna, salmon, cream cheese, avocado, and cucumber topped off with a drizzling of house sauce. Secondly, their signature cocktails were simply amazing and showcased quite a bit of range. In line with the sushi, the house favorite White Sangria was also our favorite, as well as the Pineapple Infused Martini, Sisters Potion, and Anti-Prohibition Punch! They even have their own wine room with an extensive list of fine wines to choose from. Although the sushi was by far our favorite part of the menu, they offer a wide variety of entrée choices as well. We tried the Prohibition Philly, Chicken Quesadilla, and Pork Tacos. These entrées were seasoned and cooked perfectly, and were large portion sizes for a very reasonable price. We recommend that you come hungry in order to enjoy both the sushi and the main courses, and plan on having at least one of their irresistible beverages! And if adult beverages aren’t your thing, it is no surprise that they have a great desert menu. We tried the Chocolate Nut Torta (delicious AND gluten free) and the Salted Caramel Vanilla Crunch Cake (WOW). Finally, the atmosphere tops off the experience as the display of art and style of décor, the staff, and the crowd this venue attracts are warm, friendly, and tons of fun!

Boston Lobster Feast is an excellent, family friendly place to dine in Kissimmee that stays true to the best native cuisine in Florida—seafood! This buffet-style restaurant offers a complete coastal dining experience full of just about any type of seafood you desire, including the ultimate high end delicacies—lobster and crab legs—and as many of them and you want! We were greeted by our friendly server who graciously answered all of our questions and attentively made sure we were taken care of at all times, and the manager even paid our party a special visit to teach us the right way to clean and eat a lobster. In fact, if it weren’t for this it is highly doubtful that a few of us could have made it to the edible parts without consulting online resources first! You will want to dress a bit more on the casual side when dining at Boston Lobster Feast as it can get pretty messy. We definitely strapped on our bibs and dug right in–the food was fresh and delicious and there was plenty of it! If you are visiting with others who really enjoy seafood but it doesn’t necessarily appeal to you, don’t worry–there are plenty of other great choices available. Furthermore, if you have room for desert their selection of ice cream is incredible. We highly recommend Boston Lobster Feast to anyone loves a quality buffet or who can’t resist fresh, quality seafood and refuses to empty their bank account in order to enjoy it!

All aboard mates! This miniature golf course came highly recommended, and certainly did not disappoint. With 18 fun and creative hole designs, extremely well-manicured landscaping, and plenty of entertaining pirate-themed features, this attraction is a great choice for both kids and adults. We arrived just in time to see their newest project—an enormous pirate ship that is a part of the action with interactive holes surrounding and on board the ship. The adventures and legends of infamous pirates truly come to life as you enter this world of 18th century and are surrounded by sunken ships, cascading waterfalls, dreaded pirate dungeons, lush tropical vegetation and an occasional pirate napping in a hammock in the trees. When among pirates it is best to stay on your guard at all times, so make sure to watch out for stray cannon shots from the skeleton of a pirate shooting cannon fire from his old raft. And don’t get caught in any foul play, otherwise they will send you straight to the stocks! This course is very reasonably priced, the staff is really welcoming and everything about Pirate’s Cove maximizes the excitement and entertainment of miniature golfing for all ages.

As legend has it, WonderWorks Orlando began as a Top Secret research laboratory and in the midst of a man-made tornado experiment-gone-awry was lifted away and landed upside-down in the middle of Orlando! Due to this incident, when you enter the “remains” of the building everything is up-side down so you must step inside the inversion tunnel to be “properly aligned.” Once this is complete, plenty of simulated real-life experimentation and family fun awaits you as WonderWorks showcases over 100 hands-on exhibits! Whether lying down on a real bed of nails, experiencing real hurricane and earthquake conditions, or enjoying a thrilling, simulated roller coaster ride; you will not only stimulate your brain and learn something but have tons of fun doing it at the same time! We even went head-to-head (literally!) with one another in their challenging bio feedback game for two based on EEG technology. Each player wears a headband with electrodes and must fully relax their minds in order to use their brain waves and move the ball across the table to the opposing side. It’s much harder than it looks, as you can’t get excited or “try” to win otherwise you will lose. As the goal is total mind and body relaxation, this presented the biggest challenge for Paige and Amanda who competed against each other–if you know either of them you can agree they are the most unlikely champions in the history of this game! We had a really great time as a group of adults with no kids, so we can definitely endorse this as an interesting experience for all ages and a really cool place to visit while in Orlando.

Whether you are on a family vacation or a trip for two, all of these options are perfect for any type and size of group or time of day and we definitely value their gracious hospitality and fully enjoyed their accommodations. We really had a fantastic time in Kissimmee and Orlando, and highly recommend these venues as the best Florida has to offer!